Broken Shore Weapons

The Legion prepatch features the Broken Shore event which covers the clash between faction leaders and Gul'dan. Last week we previewed the Alliance questline and today we have a closer look at some of the weapon rewards. Yes, weapons--while Legion's weapon appearances are all tied to artifacts, the quests in the prepatch like The Legion Returns reward distinctive weapon models! Alliance and Horde get differently-colored weapons, and there are some other weapons (source unknown, but due to ilvl they are also likely from the patch) which both factions can use.

Ticket Purchasing Guide – Contains additional handy details on the ticket-sales process, including what information you’ll need to provide before trying to get tickets.

You’ll have until July 15 to edit attendee information on your tickets, so it’s OK if you just enter your own name and email address for every ticket for now—just remember to go back and update this info before the deadline!

If you don’t get tickets during this first sale, a second batch will go on sale Saturday, April 23 at 10 a.m. PDT. In addition, tickets to an exclusive pre-BlizzCon dinner to benefit Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) will go on sale Wednesday, April 27 at 7 p.m. PDT. For those unable to attend the show, in-depth coverage of BlizzCon will also be available through the BlizzCon Virtual Ticket—further details will be announced at a later date.

BlizzCon 2016 will take place November 4 and 5 at the Anaheim Convention Center, and tickets cost $199 each (plus applicable taxes and fees). Tickets to the BlizzCon Benefit Dinner cost $750 each (plus taxes and fees) and include BlizzCon admission. For further information, check out the official BlizzCon site.

Legion Blue Posts

Legion Tapping Rules

Muffinus

Hey everyone, we've made a few adjustments to how tapping rules work in Legion, which you've probably already noticed, and would like to get some targeted feedback (and bugs).

Most creatures you'll encounter will now allow up to 5 players on their tap list by default. The mob's name will grey out when you can no longer obtain credit for attacking it.

Parties are a special exception, as we allow your entire party onto the tap list if one person is on the tap list. Please let us know if you find bugs with this, we want you to be able to progress with your group.

Rare spawns, world bosses, and quest bosses will largely continue to allow unlimited tappers, as they have been previously, both to facilitate large group engagements and to remove potential roadblocks.

Thanks!Why not make tapping unlimited or unlimited per faction?

Once we allow for an unlimited number of tappers, several things happen.

First, loot dropped from the creature is potentially unlimited. Each new person jumping on the tap will increase the loot dropped per server. As a consequence, loot drops might have to scale down to very infrequent drop chances. With a maximum tap limit, we can keep drop chances at a more reasonable value for an individual player.

Second, the "correct" way to play the game becomes a 40-person raid group. While this is awesome for group content like rare elites and world bosses, it would invalidate any interesting spawning or challenge with World Quests that are intended to be completed by a solo player. Limiting the power potential of the group helps retain challenge and gameplay.

Thanks for the feedback, looking forward to further discussion.

Legion Pet Battle Tuning

Muffinus

Hi all, thanks for all of the feedback both here and on the pet battle forum.

We have a few updates to share, feedback is welcome!

Cleave damage reduced by 25% (no longer has a 1 round cooldown).Dev note: We heard your concerns about adding a cooldown to cleave and agreed that this felt like a better solution.

Shell Armor duration reduced from 3 rounds to 2.Dev note: Shell armor was very powerful compared to other flat damage reduction abilities, this should bring it more in line with them.

The damage bonus from Howl now only affects one attack.

Pandaren Water Spirit's Whirlpool and Geyser now share the same ability slot.Dev note: This is our first iteration at disarming the Howl Bomb strategy in PvE, which has proven to be very powerful in too many situations. The goal is to make PvE battles more interesting and encourage the use of a wide variety of pets.

Legion PvP Gear Acquisition

Desvin

You will not be buying PvP gear from a vendor in Legion. Instead, all gear will be acquired through the strongbox system.

Battlegrounds and Skirmishes victories have a chance to reward you with gear on par with heroic level Dungeons.

Arenas and Rated Battleground victories have a chance to reward you with gear on par with Raids. As your rating increases, the ilevel of the gear increases. So a player in the 1700 range may be getting Normal Raid level gear while a Gladiator caliber player will be getting Mythic Raid level gear from Arenas. Each bracket rewards gear based on your rating in that particular bracket.

Each week, the first few victories in each rated bracket will be a guaranteed piece of gear. Currently, we're thinking the first two victories but it may increase to three. This is not enabled on Alpha due to a bug. It's been prioritized to be fixed soon.

Also, keep in mind that in Legion, your stats are predetermined in PvP instances. But your overall ilevel will increase those stats. The base item level at 110 is currently set to 800. If your gear level is 810, your stats will be increased by 1%. So while better gear does offer an advantage, it can be more easily overcome than in the past.

Apexis Crystal Bonus Event

The Apexis Bonus Event event runs through April 25th. Here is a quick recap of what you can get with Apexis Crystals:

Kaivax

Through Monday, the Sign of Apexis Bonus Event is back. You’re now receiving bonus Apexis Crystals from eligible creatures, and don’t forget to pick up the event-only quest The Time to Strike, which rewards you with big piles of Apexis Crystals, Garrison Resources, and Oil when you complete five Apexis objectives.

Spending Apexis Crystals on gear upgrades can be a great way to improve your overall item level. Check out Wowhead’s guide for everything there is to know about acquiring and spending Apexis Crystals.See you in Tanaan Jungle!

Nethaera

Welcome to our second Toy Box Tuesday, a new weekly feature where we highlight a few toys that you may want to add to your collection*. Today, we’re setting our sights on the Apexis Bonus Event and taking a little jaunt around Tanaan Jungle to see what fun stuff we can find. Apexis Overload If you’re looking for something special to spend your hard-earned Apexis Crystals on, this week we’ve got just the thing for you: Rukhmar’s Sacred Memory, a toy that turns you into a Rukhmar Adherent. You’ll need to be Revered with the Order of the Awakened to purchase it from Dawn-Seeker Krisek at a cost of 50,000 Apexis Crystals.“This faintly glowing gem infuses you with the will of Rukhmar, transforming you into one of her adherents.”You can learn a bit more about Rukhmar by visiting WoWWiki or Wowpedia. Say Hello to Your Little Friends While you’re spending time in Tanaan, you should probably take a little side trip over to visit Skoller near Fang’rila. Simply speaking to him will provide you with a toy that will allow you to make a lot of small furry friends very quickly: Skoller’s Bag of Squirrel Treats. Using this toy will cause a veritable flurry of activity as squirrels come from all around to get their little paws on the treats.“Feed the wee squirrels!”Please note that using this toy in some locations may yield unexpected results. We suggest caution in places like Booty Bay. Consider yourself warned. . . . Cave Dwelling There are a lot of great treasures and troves of goodies all around Tanaan Jungle, but if you’re looking for a truly, magnificently piratical transformation, then head over to the Cave of the Betrayed. There you’ll find Captain Ironbeard, an old buccaneer who’s not particularly thrilled with the way things have turned out for him. Normally you’d take time to sympathize, but you have a toy to get! The Ghostly Iron Buccaneer’s Hat has a chance to drop when you kill him—win one, and it will transform you into a right skeletal pirate.“Show mutineers you’ve got a bone to pick with them.”Ironbeard also has a chance to drop plans for the Ghostly Spyglass, an equipment blueprint for your Shipyard. Since there’s no guarantee he’ll drop the hat, you may have to keep returning to the cave to shake him down each day until he gives over the goods. You’ll also find more than a couple treasures within the cave. We hope you’ve got your jumping skills honed—you’ll need ’em or you’ll be swimming with the fishes.If you just started your toy collection as of our first Toy Box Tuesday, then once you add these toys to your collection, you’ll be 6/50 toward the first Toy Box Collection achievement, Having a Ball.*What’s the Toy Box?Players will find the Toy Box within their Collections interface, which can be accessed via your lower nav bar or by the keyboard command Shift-P. To add a toy to your collection, simply right-click it in your inventory. Once added to the collection, you’ll be able to access it at any time within the Toy Box interface. For additional information and tips on getting started on your collection, check out the guide on Wowhead.

Comments

Comment by Yaldrik

Why even allow gear to effect pvp. The whole small percentage advantage is just going to piss people off. Just bad game design.

Comment by Ickabob7734

on 2016-04-20T12:43:33-05:00

Those new weapon models are beautiful. Hopefully there's an easy way to collect them all for our Wardrobes.

Comment by Eighjan

on 2016-04-20T12:47:05-05:00

Umm... FTR, the singular of Staves is... STAFF. :-/

Comment by mathiaslindberg

on 2016-04-20T12:50:41-05:00

There's no Demon Hunter pre-patch weapon? Strange

Comment by Eighjan

on 2016-04-20T12:51:45-05:00

There's no Demon Hunter pre-patch weapon? Strange

Probably because there won't be any Demon Hunters IN the pre-patch...?

Comment by iamleejn

on 2016-04-20T12:56:29-05:00

Why even allow gear to effect pvp. The whole small percentage advantage is just going to piss people off. Just bad game design.

My guess is that Blizzard is worried pvpers wouldn't feel rewarded. If iLvl doesn't provide at least some benefit, then pvp rewarded gear would be irrelevant. Unlike pve, where each new piece of gear makes you feel just a little bit stronger, pvp gear would have no effect on performance at all: week to week, all that can changes is your rating (and cosmetic appearance).Blizzard probably feels that a change in rating and cosmetic gear isn't enough to keep people interested in pvp.

Comment by hstella

on 2016-04-20T13:08:37-05:00

so this stringboxes will have gear with stats you dont need like you supose to stack haste and you get versatility wich you dont need or maybe it will be better a raid drop that has haste because its just ilvl ?

Comment by greenegg

on 2016-04-20T13:11:04-05:00

There's no Demon Hunter pre-patch weapon? Strange

Probably because there won't be any Demon Hunters IN the pre-patch...? there will be, preordering the expansion allows early access to demon hunters, so that means playing them in the prepatch.

but they should get their weapons in their starting zone, and lorewise they weren't at broken shore anyway so why would a npc be carrying around war glaives no one can use?

Comment by Tribesne

on 2016-04-20T13:12:49-05:00

There's no Demon Hunter pre-patch weapon? Strange

Probably because there won't be any Demon Hunters IN the pre-patch...?

More than likely depending on when the prepatch is. Demon Hunters will only be playable a week ahead of the release for those that preordered.

Comment by DarkLordPsycho

on 2016-04-20T13:38:39-05:00

Just my opinion...but, unique or not, those are some of the lamest weapon models I have ever seen. I think the boosted character weapons look better than those. ;p

Comment by Arkaius

on 2016-04-20T13:39:52-05:00

Blizzard I love how Legion looks, and most of the changes, except for pvp. It doesn't make sense.

I can relate the pvp gear changes with the removal of stat reforging. Reforging seemed tedious to most people, so you removed it and added rerolls, which ended up costing slightly more gold, and they were completely random which was arguably more tedious.

-Now for Legion pvp gear, you took out the purchasing of vendors because it was too UNFAIR for players who didn't pvp often...And instead you made it 100% random with likely no option to reroll stats. You have effectively made pvp gearing even more unfair, in that now I have to cross my fingers and hope I get a decent strongbox, with the right type of item (shoulders, chest, etc), with the right stats.

-Not only is this change completely counterproductive to your previous statements about certain aspects of the game seeming tedious and/or required (reforging, conquest gear), it is quite literally the opposite of what you had previously stated.

-You may as well make raid gear come from strongboxes with a random chance to be 15 ilvls under Normal loot, and make all gathering professions mine the same substance for ore, leather, and herbs, with a random chance to drop one of the three.

-You could also make my subscription random, in that I have a random chance to not pay for it once a year. :P

-->Joking though, I really like how Legion looks, but the pvp aspects look so mindnumbingly tedious. WoD was the least alt-friendly expansion thus far, and I have 5 toons specifically for pvp, which I will likely no longer play due to the amount of random chance and grinding it will take to get geared. However, id the raids are good enough I might just start raiding again, which honestly could be a blessing in disguise :)

Thanks WoWhead crew for the awesome info! :D

Comment by OzarkMonk

on 2016-04-20T13:40:54-05:00

Those who pre-ordered Legion will get early access to Demon Hunters and be able to do WoD endgame. The weapons they leave their starting zone with (if I'm looking at the right item : Fel-Etched Glaive) are 720. They are able to use the usual 1-handed Agility weapons however (Daggers, Fist Weapons, One-Handed Axes, One-Handed Maces, One-Handed Swords).

Comment by kellorion

on 2016-04-20T13:45:52-05:00

Yes there will. Pre-Order peeps get Early Access. Also, even after, the launch event will still be available.

Would have rather they given us a unique transmog set, or hat, or something that we'd be more likely to use...

Then again, maybe there's other rewards. I'm doing my best not to look at too much info about the event.

You have effectively made pvp gearing even more unfair, in that now I have to cross my fingers and hope I get a decent strongbox, with the right type of item (shoulders, chest, etc), with the right stats.

I don't disagree that it's tedious...but technically random IS fair between players.

Also, raid gear drops are already randomized. PVP gear was previously "get points from playing a bunch and buy it".

Again, I don't disagree, just pointing out those...points :p

Comment by mathiaslindberg

on 2016-04-20T14:58:39-05:00

There's no Demon Hunter pre-patch weapon? Strange

Probably because there won't be any Demon Hunters IN the pre-patch...? there will be, preordering the expansion allows early access to demon hunters, so that means playing them in the prepatch.

but they should get their weapons in their starting zone, and lorewise they weren't at broken shore anyway so why would a npc be carrying around war glaives no one can use?

Oh yea, I forgot the part where they wake up in the Vault of the Wardens ON the Broken Isles xD thanks!

Comment by mathiaslindberg

on 2016-04-20T14:59:53-05:00

There's no Demon Hunter pre-patch weapon? Strange

Probably because there won't be any Demon Hunters IN the pre-patch...?

More than likely depending on when the prepatch is. Demon Hunters will only be playable a week ahead of the release for those that preordered.

Would LOVE some confirmation on when Demon Hunters are available, or at least some quotes showing that this "one week before release" is the case. I thought it was a week before release too, but the official website doesn't specify if that's true or not.

Comment by mathiaslindberg

on 2016-04-20T15:00:59-05:00

Those who pre-ordered Legion will get early access to Demon Hunters and be able to do WoD endgame. The weapons they leave their starting zone with (if I'm looking at the right item : Fel-Etched Glaive) are 720. They are able to use the usual 1-handed Agility weapons however (Daggers, Fist Weapons, One-Handed Axes, One-Handed Maces, One-Handed Swords).

Can you quote someone saying this? I've heard this "WoD endgame" before, but never actually seen someone from Blizzard say it.

Comment by jcray23

on 2016-04-20T15:15:55-05:00

Demon Hunter are being released with the pre-patch.

Pre-purchasing Legion will also grant early access to the Demon Hunter prior to the expansion’s release.† During the pre-launch early-access period, players will be able to complete the Demon Hunter’s unique starting experience on the shattered, Legion-corrupted world of Mardum and achieve level 100, leaving them fully prepared to join their allies on the Broken Isles the moment the expansion launches. Further details on the upcoming Demon Hunter early-access period, including the timing and duration, will be announced at a later date.

That is from the press realse

Comment by lankybrit

Comment by Gulver

on 2016-04-20T15:23:12-05:00

Pandaren Water Spirit's Whirlpool and Geyser now share the same ability slot.Dev note: This is our first iteration at disarming the Howl Bomb strategy in PvE, which has proven to be very powerful in too many situations. The goal is to make PvE battles more interesting and encourage the use of a wide variety of pets.

And Warcraftpets.com lose it's collective minds and is now rioting in the streets. Story at 7.